Frank Darabont

If Martin Scorsese is the king of the gangster movie and Steven Spielberg has the world of aliens on lockdown, then Frank Darabont owns the human prison drama (and, in particular, the "Stephen King human prison drama"). Darabont's feature directorial debut, The Shawshank Redemption (ranked as the best movie of all time by IMDB), is a modern-day classic and his follow-up, The Green Mile, is a close second; and yes, both were based on the works of Stephen King. Darabont has struggled to find equal levels of success in other genres, but if early buzz surrounding his new series The Walking Dead is any indication, Darabont’s career might have found new life in the graveyard rather than the prison yard. The Walking Dead premieres October 31st on AMC.

Also, be sure to check out the master director when he talks about his love for horror movies on October 30th at 8 p.m. EST on AMC's FearFest.

Appeal

All it takes is one viewing of Frank Darabont’s seminal film, The Shawshank Redemption, and it becomes obvious that the director is very much in tune with the human condition. The moving tale will make even the most hardened of cynics shed a tear, proving that Darabont has equal amounts of brain and heart. The director has become famous for his painterly compositions and for his sympathetic treatment of his characters, all qualities that would make Darabont an ideal husband and father. If you happened to burn the tuna casserole on “Tuna Casserole Tuesdays,” he’d be more likely to turn it into a lesson about redemption and forgiveness, rather than scold you for ruining his favorite meal. Then again, this is the same guy who’s bringing us AMC’s The Walking Dead, so maybe he’d just eat your brain.

Success

Although Frank Darabont is far from prolific (he’s only directed four feature films), he’s managed to achieve a level of name recognition that eludes many of his contemporaries. That’s probably because many of his contemporaries didn’t kick off their careers with a film like The Shawshank Redemption, which earned seven Oscar nods and a win for best adapted screenplay, and to this day holds the top spot on IMDB’s list of the top 250 films of all time. Darabont found similar success five years later with his second Stephen King prison drama adaptation, The Green Mile, which earned him another four Oscar nods including one for best picture, making Darabont the only director whose first two features were both nominated for best picture. Unfortunately, Darabont’s next two directorial efforts, The Majestic and The Mist, failed to strike the same chord with audiences, which is why Darabont fans have rejoiced at the early news that his adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s comic book series The Walking Dead -- which premieres on AMC on October 31st -- is slated to be one of the best new shows of the fall.

Frank Darabont Biography

Frank Darabont’s attraction to the theme of imprisonment may stem from his early childhood and his birth in a refugee camp in France. After fleeing the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, Darabont and his parents moved to Los Angeles. It wasn’t long before the young Darabont followed Hollywood’s yellow brick road, and began working as a set dresser and production assistant on various low-budget features. Eventually, Darabont began writing B-movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Blob and The Fly II. Darabont also tried his hand at directing, and gained notoriety for his short adaptation of Stephen King’s The Woman in the Room and the short Dollar Baby, which helped lay the groundwork for Darabont’s crucial relationship with King and their first major collaboration.

frank darabont directs the shawshank redemption

When The Shawshank Redemption hit theaters in 1994, the cards were stacked against it. As a first-time writer and director, Frank Darabont did not yet have the clout to lure audiences to the box office, and the film’s obscure title did nothing to help its cause. Predictably, audiences didn’t flock to see the film, despite its critical acclaim and seven Oscar nods, including one for best picture. My, how things change. Today, The Shawshank Redemption is considered a modern-day classic, while Tim Robbins’ wrongly accused banker Andy Dufresne and Morgan Freeman’s stoic inmate Red form one of the greatest onscreen duos of all time. Shawshank has since found new life on cable and in home rentals, helping make Frank Darabont a household name.

frank darabont directs the green mile

After Frank Darabont’s feature directorial debut was nominated for seven Oscars, many predicted that the talented storyteller would instantly become Hollywood’s hottest commodity. Instead, Darabont took a five-year hiatus from the director’s chair, finally returning for what many saw as an unofficial sequel to The Shawshank Redemption. The Green Mile was also based on the work of Stephen King, it was also set in prison and it also featured the relationship between a white man (played by Tom Hanks) and a black inmate (played by Michael Clarke Duncan) as its core. It was also similarly well-received, earning Darabont his second Oscar nod for best adapted screenplay and his second nomination for best picture.

frank darabont writes, produces and directs the walking dead

Frank Darabont’s next two directorial efforts failed to hit the mark in the same way that his first two did. In particular, The Majestic -- featuring Jim Carrey in one of his first dramatic roles -- was reviled by critics and audiences alike, and was a huge failure at the box office. His next film, The Mist (another Stephen King adaptation), was decidedly less of a failure, but still lacked the same emotional wallop that Darabont had become known for. It did, however, allude to a side of of the director that many didn’t know existed: Darabont, the old-school horror fan.

Now, with his highly anticipated adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s epic comic book series The Walking Dead, it’s a side that Darabont gets to explore with a mix of reckless abandon and childhood glee. Darabont executive-produced the series, which tells the tale of a world devastated by a zombie apocalypse, and a group of survivors who must fight through hordes of the undead just to stay alive. The pilot, which Darabont wrote and directed, premieres to much fanfare October 31, 2010, on AMC.